Please can someone help me with my Sociology summer homework?

Posted on 2014-04-28 11:54:00 in Sociology by BINKS

I'm really stuck! These are the questions I have to do and my answers. Can someone point me in the right direction and tell me if it seems correct? Even if it's very brief bullet points, big thank you in advance :)



1. Explain the social construction and representation of inequality and poverty in the UK.



- Poverty and inequality are constructed in the UK by people making up their own opinions on what it means to be in poverty. This creates a poverty line that is unique to the uk.



2. Explain sociologically how social difference such as inequality and poverty is constructed and defined in the UK.



Absolute Poverty - lack of biological needs, food, water, shelter.

Relative Poverty - poverty that is relative to a individual location for example in the UK you may be seen as in poverty if you can't afford a car and have to take the bus.



3. Summarise how inequality and poverty are represented in the media and the public arena.



Poverty and inequality are usually represented negatively in the media. People in poverty are often blamed for their situation and are refered to as lazy and uneducated. For example the media represents people on benefits as 'scroungers' this leads to stereotyping which leads other people to associate everyone on benefits as the same.



4. Sociologically describe and evaluate the social construction and representation of inequality and poverty in the UK.



UNSURE



5. Identified and described briefly two sociological theories of inequality and poverty in either the UK or globally.



Cycle of Deprivation Theory - parents in poverty have children who grow to live in poverty.



The Culture of Poverty - The poor remain in poverty because of their adaptations to the burdens of poverty.



6. Identified an appropriate sociological perspective that relates to the described sociological theories of inequality and poverty.



Marxism relates to the described sociological perspectives as it suggests that power and wealth remain in the hands of upper class (bourgeoisie). The upper class pay the lower class in employment enough to get by but not enough that they can afford to stop work so they have to keep coming back and earning more money for the bourgeoisie.



7. Evaluated the relevance of an appropriate sociological perspective in explaining inequality and poverty in the UK.



Marxim as a sociological perspective can inform understanding as to why people live in poverty.



NOT SURE IF MARXISM IS A PERSPECTIVE

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